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Pope Francis To Issue Encyclical On Global Warming

HughPickens.com writes The Guardian reports that following a visit in March to Tacloban, the Philippine city devastated in 2012 by typhoon Haiyan, Pope Francis plans to publish a rare encyclical on climate change and human ecology urging all Catholics to take action on moral and scientific grounds. "A papal encyclical is rare," says Bishop Marcelo Sorondo, chancellor of the Vatican's Pontifical Academy of Sciences who revealed the pope's plans when he delivered Cafod's annual Pope Paul VI lecture. "It is among the highest levels of a pope's authority. It will be 50 to 60 pages long; it's a big deal." The encyclical will be sent to the world's 5,000 Catholic bishops and 400,000 priests, who will distribute it to parishioners. Within Catholicism in recent times, an encyclical is generally used for significant issues, and is second in importance only to the highest ranking document now issued by popes, an Apostolic Constitution. "Just as humanity confronted revolutionary change in the 19th century at the time of industrialization, today we have changed the natural environment so much," says Sorondo. "If current trends continue, the century will witness unprecedented climate change and destruction of the ecosystem with tragic consequences."

Francis's environmental radicalism is likely to attract resistance from Vatican conservatives and in rightwing church circles, particularly in the US – where Catholic climate sceptics also include John Boehner, Republican leader of the House of Representatives and Rick Santorum, the former Republican presidential candidate. "There will always be 5-10% of people who will take offence. They are very vocal and have political clout," says Dan Misleh, director of the Catholic climate covenant. "This encyclical will threaten some people and bring joy to others. The arguments are around economics and science rather than morality." Francis will also be opposed by the powerful US evangelical movement, says Calvin Beisner, spokesman for the conservative Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation, which has declared the US environmental movement to be "un-biblical" and a false religion. "The pope should back off," says Beisner. "The Catholic church is correct on the ethical principles but has been misled on the science. It follows that the policies the Vatican is promoting are incorrect. Our position reflects the views of millions of evangelical Christians in the US."

6 of 341 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Call his boss by burni2 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Adam & Eve - the executive version:

    His boss, kicked "us" out of the executive lounge - where we had free finger food and funny games* all day - and there was nothing else to do, than to praise him and follow his rules - not to eat the apple from the special tree (tree of awareness).

    We voilated his only rule and became aware due to eating the apple from the tree of awareness.

    God realized that now at least four entities (god, adam, eve, satan a.k.a Snake Plisken) with awareness existed.

    And so he said when people are aware of theirselves they don't need a caring god, they can live on their own with *any help* from daddy.

    This is why HE/God/His boss can't/won't fix it. Because our sin is awareness so mankind is fully responsible for it's own actions

    And as we are responsible for our actions, we should try to act accordingly.

    And not hope, that the CO2 content conserved over hundreds of millions of years excavated and reintroduced into the atmosphere over a term of ~150yrs. will have really no effect on the climate.

    *(adam & eve games)

    *(in the start at some point in time god went arsonist on some olive trees)

  2. Re:Agreed. by Livius · · Score: 3, Interesting

    He represent[s] GOD.

    I'm not so sure - he often sounds like a compassionate atheist.

  3. Re:Doesn't matter by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Why did you feel the need to bring allude to Al Gore as the Pope when this whole story is about the ACTUAL POPE saying the climate change was real and needed to be addressed. I looked up the article and no mention was made of Al Gore. The only reason to bring him up is that it is just part of the usual bullsh*t that deniers spout because they can't back their arguments up with any evidence.

    Let's call scientists "rent-seeking alarmists" despite the fact that you can't produce a shred of evidence that anyone has falsified results to ensure that they get some juicy grant. It seems rather hypercritical to make claims for fraudulent scientist "whose jobs are dependent on a steady stream of government-funded group-think for their livelihoods" just after you said this:

    Just because something is funded by people with whom you have an ideological dispute it doesn't alter the quality (or lack thereof, as the case may be) of the writing on the page.

    So just because something was funded by the government, doesn't make the science wrong no matter how hard you wish that it did!

  4. Re:Doesn't matter by mfearby · · Score: 1, Interesting

    No wind turbine (or field of same) is going to generate enough electricity to smelt iron ore. If greenies weren't so prejudiced against nuclear power, we might take them seriously about climate change.

  5. Re:Doesn't matter by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    That in no way detracts from the benefit of deploying renewable energy sources - without such deployment that same "dirty energy" would instead be invested in producing more "dirty energy" generating facilities - demand is constantly increasing, and old generating facilities are constantly being updated or replaced.

    Nonsense. Everyone knows that coal used for industry is clean - the ads say so. It is pure carbon that condenses out of the atmosphere in the very furnace that will burn it. There is no mining, refining, sorting or transportation necessary.

    Meanwhile those so-called renewable products are made with nasty natural coal that has to be dug out of the ground, destroying water and earth alike before being trucked of shipped halfway across the country and world where it then emitting toxic gasses and heavy metals as part of it's ash leading to birth defects and cancer. And then, after that 200' windmill kills millions of severely endangered American eagles, in the course of providing power for one lousy day, they whole thing has to be thrown out and a new one built for... reasons. The very idea is unbelievable.

    Why can't stupid liberals understand that?

    -Professor of Science at Koch Bros University

  6. Re:Agreed. by pitchpipe · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The pope is nothing compared to liberals. Liberals have ALL the answers to life's problems. They also have a cohesive set of beliefs and standards that will create a perfect society if only the unwashed would listen to them, and follow their tenants religiously. In this sense Liberals ARE GOD, and are much much more important that some faggy as pedo called the pope. Don't believe me, just ask a liberal. She or he will tell you that in fact she is Perfect, and then wage a sin tax on you for being white.

    All must bow to the magnificence of liberal thought.

    I christen thee Stupidest Post of 2014

    --
    Look where all this talking got us, baby.